Wrench



J. COTTREL Jan. 25 1927,

WRENCH *Filed August 1l. 1925 ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 25, 1927.

narran STATES JOHN courrant, onWEsTiLIBERTZY, omo.

WRENCH.

Application vfiled. August 11, 19,25. Serial No. 49,591.

present invention relates particularly to wrenches and has for its object to provideamonkey wrench which -Will be strong vand durable, in connection with which vthe operator or user will be protected against the working or adjusting parts and the latter .will in turn be `protected against injury so as vto insure easy quick adjustment `of the parts throughout the life of the Wrench.

A further object is the provision of a quick ladjustable wrench having simple eifectivemeans for locking the parts in any upositionof adjustment, proof against accidental displacement.

VViththese. and other objects in mind, my invention fconsists in the construction and arrangement of the ,parts -to be now de- .scribed with reference to the accompanying drawingillustrating.myinvention and forinin apart of this specification, and wherein,

4 *igure ,1 is va perspective view showing my j. improved wrench.

Figure 2 Ais a Vlongitudinal section ltaken therethrough.

Figure 3.is adetail cross section taken on line 3 43 of Figure2.

Figure 4 is af detail perspective view of the closure strip removed, and

Figure 5 `is a detail perspective view oi certainportions of the locking arrangement removed.

Referringnow to these guresfmy invenftionincludes anouter jaw atright angles to and integralwiththe outer end of a shank 11. This shank adjacent to the jaw 10 and for the major'portion of its length is of rectangular cross section, its inner end p0rtion being for a short distance rounded and threaded as indicated at 12.

A tubular handle 13 is open at one end to receive the shank 11 and is internally threaded to adjustably engage the threaded portion 12 of said shank. The opposite free end of handle 13 is open and adjacent to such opening has an internal annular groove 14 for a purpose which will be presently described.

The movable jaw 15 which opposes the rigid jaw 10 and is adjustable toward and away from the same by the handle 13, has an angular body 16 slotted from end to end as at 17 to receive the shank 11. This shank movably interfits the slot` 17 and is in the first instance assembled therewith by shiftextern-al annular groove'20 into .which a-lug f 21 `of the closure strip 18 extends so as t0 thus rotatably confine the handle and movable jaw against relative longitudinalmove ment.

It isneedless to say the externally grooved 19 of the movable jaw l,before the closure strip 18 is placed and secured `in position and it is'then obvious that rotative movement of the'handle causes lengthwise movement of' theshank 11 and thereforeresults in shiftingthe movable jaw 15 toward or'away from the rigid jaw 10 depending upon the direction of such rotation.

The shank 11 is axially y,bored for the major portion of its length, `the bore 22 thereof'being plainly showninffFigure 2 and extending therein from the inner threaded end 12 of the shank.

Thisbore is moreover of approximately semicircular shape in ycross section to receive vthe similarly shaped elongated stem 23 freely slidable in the bore at itsinner end, ,and provided at its outerend withatermi- Vnal threaded portion 24 and Vwith an `annular grooved collar 25 adjacent to itssaid threaded portion. The groove 26 ofthis collar is adapted to receive a split spring coupling ring 27, which when the stem 23 is projected into the open end of the rotating handle 13, may be forced into the internal groove 14 into which it expands so as to form a lock for the entire stem and its parts, preventing relative movement thereoi' lengthwise of the handle 13. In this p0- sition of the parts as shown in Figure 2, the threaded terminal end 24 of the locking stem projects beyond the open end of the rotating handle 13, and on its threaded extension 24 a nut 28 screws, a cotter pin or the like 29 being extended through the extreme end of Ithe threaded portion 24 to prevent the nut 28 from thereafter turning oil of the locking stem. The nut 28 receives thereover a locking cap 30 which thus substantially T0 end of the handle 13 is placed in the bore closes the open end or the rotating handle 13, which cap is connected by a pin 31 to the nut 28.

Thus the rotating handle 13 may freely rotate with respect to the non-rotating locking stem 23 and its collar 25 in the adjustment of the jaw 10 with respect to the jaw 15. At the same time the locking stem 23 and its collar 25 are prevented from lengthwise movement with respect to the handle by virtue of the ring 27. llVhen the jaw is set in the desired adjustment it is simply necessary to turn the locking cap 30 by virtue of which the nut 28 threaded on the stem moves toward the adjacent end of the rotating handle 13, carrying the locking cap with it until the latter engages the handle 13 and binds therewith by virtue oit the frictional contact so as to secure the handle 13 against further rotation. It is simply necessaryL to reverse this action of the locking cap 30 in order to release the rotating handle for further adjusting` movements, and it is thus plain that the locking and release of the rotating handle may be readily and easily effected. r

It is plain also that the adjusting parts are all enclosed, preventing injury to the user and protecting` these parts, especially the threads of the shank and handle from marring. This insures easy adjustment at all times and preserves the natural strength of the parts from end to end.

I claim z-d 1. A wrench including opposed stationary and movable jaws, a shank at one end of which the stationary jaw is rigid, and upon which the movable jaw is slidably and non-rotatably mounted, said shank having its other end portion externally threaded, a hollow handle rotatably associated with a portion of the movable jaw, and having internal threads engaging the threaded portion of the shank of the stationary jaw, said shank having its threaded portion extending into the handle and provided with an elongated non-circular bore extending axially therein 'from its last mentioned end, a locking stem extending into the tree end ofthe handle and having a portion projecting lnto the bore of the shank and interiitting the latter whereby to prevent rotation ot the stem with respect to the shank, said stem having a collar within the tree end of the handle, means engaging the handle and the said collar to prevent lengthwise movement of the stem with respect to the handle and permit ot rotation of the same, said stem having a threaded extension projecting outwardly beyond its collar, and the free end of the handle and a cap threaded on the lastinentioned portion of the stem for rotatable movement into and out of binding engagement with the tree end of the handle.

2. A wrench including opposed stationary and movable jaws, a shank upon one end of which the stationary jaw is mounted and upon which shank the movable jaw is slidably and non-rotatably disposed, said shank having its other end portion externally threaded, a handle rotatably associated at one end with a portion of the movable jaw and into which the other end of the shank is threaded, said handle being hollow throughout and having internal threads engaging the shank threads and having an inner annular groove adjacent to its free end, a stem mounted axially oi" the handle and having its inner portion in slidable nonrotatable connection with the shank of the stationary jaw and having a collar adjacent to its outer end provided with a peripheral groove, a spring locking member seated in the groove of the collar and extending into the said inner groove of the handle to rotatably support the stem and hold the same against lengthwise movement with respect to the handle, and a cap threaded upon the outer end o'll the stem beyond the collar for rotation into and out ot' binding engagement with the adjacent end of the handle.

JOHN COTTREL. 

